I really like this TED Talk by Sarah Kay. She talks about her journey with spoken poetry and the work she’s done with teaching students. What I like about this talk is that Kay is a really effective speaker. She starts and ends on two original spoken poems, and both of them are interesting to hear. It also gives her talk a sense of unity, and there’s a full-circle moment in the end. She also has this way of connecting ideas. Throughout the speech, you’re reminded of previous ideas and stories she told when she somehow manages to link them all together. I’m not the biggest fan of poetry or spoken poetry, but Kay still manages to give a talk that’s enjoyable for everyone. Her hand gestures are also such a good example because they show how gesturing can enhance and add to the performance. Nothing felt rehearsed, it all just felt so natural.
I have a few ideas for my topic:
One of them is the perception of women’s bodies. Women’s bodies used to be covered up (the ankle was so scandalous), but they were also sometimes seen as just vessels for children. It wasn’t her body, it was her husband’s or the pathway for a child to be born. Whereas now, a woman showing her ankle isn’t necessarily some great sin. There has been a liberation, slowly, where women have been able to expose more of themselves while gaining control of their bodies.
I also think the public’s perception of the news media is an interesting idea. Before, newspapers and news outlets were the only way people got information. Now, there is such an excess of information that we’re constantly bombarded with instantaneous news. However, the public’s trust in the media has also gone down, and the idea of fake news is something most people know.
My last idea is the special education system in American schools. Over time, children with special needs and disabilities have become more and more included in the public school system, and the treatment they receive has also drastically changed. This is a really personal topic for me, and it’s something I’ve also researched before so I have a good idea of where I could start.
I really like all of your ideas, they seem to have a ton of research that you could use and different perspectives that you can look on. I think at some point the perception of women’s bodies could get a little overwhelming with all the different opinions present today, but overall I think that any one of these ideas would be great!
I like that you chose this Ted Talk because it’s not something I would have picked to watch myself but you made it sound so interesting.
I really like your third idea because I don’t think that disabled education in schools is talked about enough and it would be really interesting to hear. I also like the first one though, the idea of liberating women’s bodies would be really good!